Live Updates: Hundreds of Thousands Join Another Round of Protests in France

 

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Oct. 31, 2026, 4:25 p.m. ET30 minutes ago

Live Updates: Hundreds of Thousands Join Another Round of Protests in France

The interior ministry estimated that 320,000 people had demonstrated nationwide, a smaller number than the previous two Saturdays. The police and protesters clashed in Paris and other cities.

 

Mark Landler

Ségolène Le Stradic

Mark Landler and Ségolène Le StradicReporting from Paris

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/10/31/world/france-student-protests-halloween

 

Here is the latest.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities across France again on Saturday, the latest expression of national grievance that has led to clashes between protesters and the police and kept the country on edge.

 

As dusk fell and official rallies wound down, unauthorized marches splintered off in Paris, stoking fresh fears of chaos as night approached.

 

Adding to those fears: Halloween, which falls on Saturday. The French authorities, citing calls on social media for people to revolt that encouraged them to wear masks and costumes, warned that the risk of a new outbreak of violence was high.

 

In Paris, tensions began flaring between protesters and the police in the late afternoon, as officers fired tear gas at people who refused to disperse. The Paris police estimated that 70,000 people marched in the demonstration, compared with 110,000 last Saturday. After the main demonstration ended, hundreds of protesters, many masked and clad in black, formed an unauthorized procession in eastern Paris.

 

The interior ministry estimated that nationwide, 320,000 people demonstrated, compared with 410,000 last week. Protesters and the police also clashed in Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, and Rennes.

 

Corentin Schnell, a 19-year-old engineering student, took part in the unauthorized march in Paris because, he said, he was angered by accounts of the police using tear gas and stun grenades against protesters in past weeks. “I’ve come to demonstrate and to try to provide medical care — to limit the damage, regardless of which side it’s on,” he said.

 

Earlier in the week, France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, promised to deploy 70,000 police officers, matching the numbers on Oct. 24. That operation helped keep a lid on outbreaks of arson and looting, although then, too, there were clashes as the police tried to disperse the crowds in the evening.

 

There was ample fuel for a repeat of those combustible scenes. Students, who are returning to school on Monday after a two-week break, were not mollified by the government’s initial response to their demands. The Education Ministry agreed to cap some class sizes, offer low-interest loans to rebuild school buildings and phase out an unpopular online college admissions platform.

 

The students vowed to go on protesting. Their two-month-old movement has grown to include university students, public workers and veterans of the “yellow vest” movement that convulsed France from 2018 to 2020.

 

The authorities have said they are most worried about trouble breaking out after nightfall.

 

“We are seeing numerous calls to gather coming from the far left, the radicalized extreme left, and from certain radicalized ‘yellow vests’ websites, which are urging people to attend rallies or public gatherings starting at 8 p.m. in many cities across France,” Mr. Nuñez said at a news conference.

 

Some of the messages were violent, Mr. Nuñez said, calling for “revolution” and “insurrection.” Those gatherings will be forbidden, and any attempt to gather despite the ban will lead to arrests, he said.

 

Demonstrators have been encouraged on social media to turn up wearing Halloween costumes. Mr. Nuñez warned that it was a criminal offense to conceal one’s face during a demonstration that disrupted public order.

 

Here’s what else to know.

 

Social media: French officials are increasingly concerned about social media’s role in attracting people and inciting violent behavior. Speculation that the government considered temporarily suspending several popular sites drew a denial from President Emmanuel Macron himself. Read more ›

 

Far-right activists: While the government has blamed far-left activists for much of the mayhem, officials confirmed that bands of young men with links to the far right have also infiltrated the demonstrations. They use the pretext of protecting shop owners but often clash with far-left groups.

 

Widening movement: The nationwide unrest in France began with a handful of student demonstrations at high schools in suburban Paris last month. Read more ›

 

Giulia Imbert contributed reporting.